Estimating Resource Requirements for Work Activities

In addition to precedence relationships and time durations, resource

requirements are usually estimated for each activity. Since the work activities
defined for (a project are comprehensive, the total resources required for the
project are the sum of the resources required for the various activities. By making
resource requirement estimates for each activity, the requirements for particular
resources during the course of the project can be identified. Potential bottlenecks
can thus be identified, and schedule, resource allocation or technology changes
made to avoid problems.
Many formal scheduling procedures can incorporate constraints imposed by
the availability of particular resources. For example, the unavailability of a specific
piece of equipment or crew may prohibit activities from being undertaken at a
particular time. Another type of resource is space. A planner typically will
schedule only one activity in the same location at the same time. While activities
requiring the same space may have no necessary technical precedence,
simultaneous work might not be possible.
The initial problem in estimating resource requirements is to decide the
extent and number of resources that might be defined. At a very aggregate level,
resources categories might be limited to the amount of labor (measured in man-
hours or in dollars), the amount of materials required for an activity, and the total
cost of the activity. At this aggregate level, the resource estimates may be useful
for purposes of project monitoring and cash flow planning. For example, actual
expenditures on an activity can be compared with the estimated required resources
to reveal any problems that are being encountered during the course of a project.
However, this aggregate definition of resource use would not reveal bottlenecks
associated with particular types of equipment or workers.
More detailed definitions of required resources would include the number
and type of both workers and equipment required by an activity as well as the
amount and types of materials. Standard resource requirements for particular
activities can be recorded and adjusted for the special conditions of particular
projects. As a result, the resources types required for particular activities may
already be defined. Reliance on historical or standard activity definitions of this
type requires a standard coding system for activities.
In making adjustments for the resources required by a particular activity,
most of the problems encountered in forming duration estimations described in the
previous section are also present. In particular, resources such as labor
requirements will vary in proportion to the work productivity, Pij, used to estimate
activity durations in Equation (9.1). Mathematically, a typical estimating equation
would be:

Rkij = Dij Nij Ukij

where Rkij are the resources of type k required by activity ij, Dij is the
duration of activity ij, Nij is the number of standard crews allocated to activity ij,
and Ukij is the amount of resource type k used per standard crew. For example, if
an activity required eight hours with two crews assigned and each crew required
three workers, the effort would be R = 8*2*3 = 48 labor-hours.
From the planning perspective, the important decisions in estimating
resource requirements are to determine the type of technology and equipment to
employ and the number of crews to allocate to each task. Clearly, assigning
additional crews might result in faster completion of a particular activity. However,
additional crews might result in congestion and coordination problems, so that
work productivity might decline. Further, completing a particular activity earlier
might not result in earlier completion of the entire project.
Example: Resource Requirements for Block Foundations
In placing concrete block foundation walls, a typical crew would consist of
three bricklayers and two bricklayer helpers. If sufficient space was available on
the site, several crews could work on the same job at the same time, thereby
speeding up completion of the activity in proportion to the number of crews. In
more restricted sites, multiple crews might interfere with one another. For special
considerations such as complicated scaffolding or large blocks (such as twelve inch
block), a bricklayer helper for each bricklayer might be required to insure smooth
and productive work. In general, standard crew composition depends upon the
specific construction task and the equipment or technology employed. These
standard crews are then adjusted in response to special characteristics of a
particular site.
Example: Pouring Concrete Slabs
For large concrete pours on horizontal slabs, it is important to plan the
activity so that the slab for a full block can be completed continuously in a single
day. Resources required for pouring the concrete depend upon the technology used.
For example, a standard crew for pumping concrete to the slab might include a
foreman, five laborers, one finisher, and one equipment operator. Related
equipment would be vibrators and the concrete pump itself. For delivering concrete
with a chute directly from the delivery truck, the standard crew might consist of a
foreman, four laborers and a finisher. The number of crews would be chosen to
insure that the desired amount of concrete could be placed in a single day. In
addition to the resources involved in the actual placement, it would also be
necessary to insure a sufficient number of delivery trucks and availability of the
concrete itself.